Night Time at the Potter House
by CelticDragonLadyWarrior
Summary: James watches over Harry, but loses him by night fall, Lily is furious, and Sirius does some star gazing.


James and Lily Potter finally had a house of their own. It was set up just the way Lily liked it, with a few personal touches from James and the other Marauders, and there was the perfect nursery for baby Harry. Lily was a proud mother. Her son was healthy, happy, and easily the most lively little bundle of joy she could have ever imagined. Harry had been born just a few months before and Lily could hardly remember what life was like without him. Though motherhood was exhausting, she had plenty of help. James stepped up and took care of Harry whenever Lily needed a break. Then there were Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Each of them would drop whatever they were doing to jump in and help take care of Harry. Sirius in particular managed to find every possible excuse to jump in and visit his godson. Each day, Lily had someone who could take over while she took some time to rest properly. While she had been prepared for all the responsibility that came with being a parent, she was not prepared to survive with absolutely no sleep for months at a time. New born infants have no concept of a proper sleep cycle for an adult.

Today, James was taking over as lead baby watcher while Lily got some much needed rest. James decided to spend the day being the goof he usually is. Today, it began with peek-a-boo, deer edition. He covered his eyes, playing peek-a-boo in the traditional sense at first, removing his hands to show a goofy face. Harry giggled, clearly enjoying the game. James then covered his face again and shifted his head into his animagus form. When he removed his hands, a stag with magnificent antlers stuck out its tongue and made various noises. Harry just blinked at first, confused at how the deer had suddenly appeared. But as the deer made strange noises and faces he burst into a laughing fit. The deer smirked, covered its face with human hands, and shifted back into James. He smirked when he ended the game and said "Who's the best dad ever? I am! Isn't that right Harry?" He brought baby Harry up into his arms and nuzzled him gently, earning another round of giggles which he took as an affirmative. He played as many games as a three month old could handle before settling down for a nap. James, surprisingly, found himself still awake. Normally after a day like this he was down just moments after Harry fell asleep.

Bored, he messaged Sirius, Remus, and Peter to see if they could find a way to pass the time. Mostly, he just wanted to get the whole of the house cleaned while Lily was gone and he did not want to be stuck handling the work alone. Remus was busy that day, off handling some official Order business. James knew better than to try to ask for details, so he let the matter drop. Peter had been called over to help his mother redecorate her house. Well, at least James was not alone in being trapped in a house that needed cleaning. Sirius sent no reply, so James began the housework alone. Just as he finished cleaning up a corner of the living room, there was a loud crack! James jumped, turning around with his wand drawn, to find Sirius standing on top of the coffee table. "Heya Prongs! What do you have planned for today?" James lowered his wand and said "Padfoot, seriously! You gotta give a guy some warning if you're gonna just jump into the living room!" Sirius laughed as James shook his head. "Well since you're here, and Harry is somehow still asleep after your apparating attack, you might as well help me clean up. I want the place to look amazing before Lily comes back."

Sirius laughed and said "Oh, so that's why you wanted to regroup today? Just to use us? Well, lucky for you I have nothing better to do and I'm already here so…. Where do we start?" James gestured toward the living room, which was currently covered in dust courtesy of Sirius' impressive entrance. Sirius laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment and said "Ah, right, of course. I'm on it!" Sirius started levitating small objects and carefully checking them for dirt and dust. Everything that needed to be cleaned got moved to one side while those that had survived the sudden entrance were moved to the opposite side. Once everything was sorted, Sirius began cleaning. He was particularly careful, knowing that Lily would kill him if he damaged anything. Lily may have been kind and sweet to most people, but she was not the sort of person you would want to cross. James and Sirius had learned this lesson well back in their Hogwarts days, back when they were young and immature and clearly needed a reality check. Sirius chuckled silently at the memories, returning to his cleaning. He and James worked in tandem until the living room was spotless.

With one room cleaned, they moved on to the rest of the house. Their work took longer than usual as, every few minutes, James kept running off to check on Harry. They carefully cleaned every inch of the house before stopping by Harry's room just in time to see him wake up. James was exhausted after the long day of cleaning and trying to watch over Harry so he sent Sirius off and settled down for a nap of his own. After all, Lily would be home in a few moments so him sleeping until then should not be a problem. At least, that's what he had thought. Little did he know that Sirius had actually stayed behind. He had snuck back into the house in his animagus form and swiftly went up the stairs to visit Harry. He quickly shifted back into his human form and picked up little Harry. After handling feeding and other necessities, quietly to ensure James got a little rest, Sirius noticed the stars starting to appear. Getting an idea, he scooped up Harry and took him out of the house. Lily returned home at that moment. She smiled as she found James asleep on the sofa and moved upstairs to take over watching Harry. When she found an empty crib waiting for her, she shouted down the stairs. Awaking her husband, she unleashed her killer glare, shouting "James Potter! Did you lose Harry again?!" James cringed away and said "Er…. Maybe?" Meanwhile, on the roof, Sirius sat with Harry wrapped in his leather jacket. Gesturing toward the sky he said "You see that Harry? That's the brightest star in the sky." He continued to tell Harry all about the stars, oblivious to the wrath of Lily being unleashed inside the house.


End file.
